Free Japanese, Chinese, Korean classes at Carnegie Library.

A reminder from the Carnegie Library in Oakland (map) that it offers free Chinese, Japanese, and Korean classes for beginner and intermediate levels. Here's what's resuming this month:

* Chinese Conversation Club - January 10 and 24 at 6 pm in the Large Print Room, for intermediate learners
* Japanese for Beginners - January 14 and 28 at 6:30 pm in Classroom A
* Japanese II - January 8 and 22 at 6:30 pm in Classroom A
* Japanese Conversation Club - January 15 at 6 pm in the Large Print Room, for intermediate and advanced learners
* Korean for Beginners - January 12, 19, and 26 at 1 pm in the Large Print Room
* Korean II - January 12, 19, and 26 at 11 am in the Large Print Room

On the "Learn" page atop the website is a list of other resources for language-learning and cultural exchange in the Pittsburgh area, including additional Chinese and Japanese classes and conversation partner programs.

White Cube, Green Maze: New Art Landscapes at Carnegie Museum of Art through January 13.

Ando's "The Oval" on Naoshima. Image by Telstar Logistics.

Old news, but the exhibit White Cube, Green Maze: New Art Landscapes will be at the Carnegie Museum of Art (map) through January 13. A summary from the museum:

Today a new type of museum is emerging—one that fuses inventive architecture and landscape design with radical conceptual and installation art. These sites typically mix old and new, featuring collaborative plans by several designers and encouraging exploration outdoors.

The exhibit features such work by three Japanese artists: Ryue Nishizawa, Hiroshi Sambuichi, and Tadao Ando, the latter's installations on the island of Naoshima drawing special attention here.

The Power of Two at Sewickley Academy, January 12.

The 2012 film The Power of Two will play at Sewickley Academy (map) on January 12 as part of next year's Silk Screen Film Series at the school. It's an American movie based on the memoir of two half-Japanese twins fighting cystic fibrosis with the help of organ donations from Japan. "The film," says the Wall Street Journal blog Japan Real Time,

follows them on a trip to Japan in 2009 to meet with donor families and recipients, and advocate to raise Japan’s still-low organ donation rate. The two are natural storytellers, compelling and poetic on the power of human connections—as twins, biracial Americans, and organ recipients almost mystically tied to their donors. Mr. Smolowitz makes their post-transplant vibrancy—they climb mountains, run, swim—all the more exhilarating by first showing, through archival footage, how they more than paid their dues through countless hospitalizations and surgeries since they were babies.

A lengthy Japan Times review continues:

From the viewpoint of Japan, where only 193 transplant operations were performed in 2009, compared with nearly 28,000 in the twins' native United States, they were the "miracles" of the film's Japanese title indeed.

The "Miracle Twins" (ミラクルツインズ) website has a larger summary, additional resources on the movie and the background, and a collection of reviews and awards-won. The movie is actually available for free Hulu, and at a price via other online sources.

Korean Christmas cakes at Paris Baguette.

Christmas in Korea is . . . different, and one of the biggest traditions there is buying a Christmas cake from one of the big bakery chains like Paris Baguette or Tous Les Jours, ubiquitous ice cream shop Baskin Robbins, or giant leading donut chain Dunkin Donuts. Both bakery franchises have locations in the US, and Paris Baguette has one in suburban Philadelphia (map), where you'll find a few Christmas cakes on sale from the 19th through the 25th.


Yogurt Cake.


Green Tea Freshcream Cake.

Tân Lạc Viên opens in Squirrel Hill.

The much-anticipated Tân Lạc Viên Vietnamese Bistro opened Wednesday on 2114 Murray Ave. in Squirrel Hill (map). Here's a look at the menu, which at over 90 entrees spread across Southeast and East Asian cuisines looks a little overextended:


Click to enlarge. The two on the left are front and back of the dinner menu, and the one on the right is a smaller menu available lunch and evenings. (It took several years of scanning and cropping to realize it's the menus that are slightly crooked, not my scanner, but I wasn't in the mood to fight with them anymore.)

Construction started about seven weeks ago, and the awning went up on November 11th in what used to be an Italian restaurant.


On November 11.

Winter holidays at the Cathedral of Learning.

From November 10th through January 19th the Nationality Rooms at the Cathedral of Learning will show off traditional winter holiday decorations. There are impressive Christmas displays in many of the European rooms, while the Chinese and Japanese ones reflect New Years celebrations.


Kodamatsu, in the Japanese Room, classroom 317.


Chinese Room, classroom 136. A decent camera would do this room better justice.

Lots of stuff from Andy Warhol Museum on display in Hong Kong.

Via the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

The South China Morning Post has a preview of "Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal", an exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art from December 16 through March 31. With over 370 pieces from the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, it is "said to feature the largest-ever collection in Asia" of Warhol's art.

In the Hong Kong stop, more than 370 items - from Warhol's paintings, drawings, photographs, screen prints, movies and sculptures to archival objects documenting his life - will be displayed. While iconic works such as Campbell's Soup, Jackie, The Last Supper, Marilyn Monroe, Mao, Self-Portrait and Silver Liz should not be missed, some Hong Kong-specific work are what make this stop special.

"Andy Warhol archived in cardboard boxes items from his daily life into 612 'Time Capsules' from the 1970s until his death in 1987. We asked the [Warhol] museum to open Time Capsule 23 especially for us, which houses over 20 items related to the city when he visited Hong Kong and Beijing in 1982," says Ng Ka-lun, modern art curator of the Hong Kong Museum of Art.

"The items include a calendar of 1983 he bought from a local book store. Another record of his visit is a photo Warhol captured from the hotel he stayed at, presumably the Mandarin Oriental, overlooking Victoria Harbour and Kowloon."

The Pittsburgh museum has information about this and the other exhibitions on the Asian tour.

Seoul Olympics in Pittsburgh.

Sign pointing to the Foxcatcher set, Forbes Ave. and Bigelow Blvd. The working title used to be The Fair Hill Project.

The movie Foxcatcher has been filming in Western Pennsylvania for a little while, and today it was in Oakland, at the Petersen Events Center on the University of Pittsburgh campus. They were looking for extras today for scenes, if Facebook was to be believed, depicting the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul.

We are looking for people to work as film extras on Thursday, DECEMBER 13. At the Petersen event center to recreate an olympic wrestling event at the Seoul Olympics. We are looking for people of multiple ethnicities who are able to work a full day (12 hours or more). Would probably start around 10am or 11am and go to 10pm or 11pm that evening.

The movie tells the story of former Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz and the man who killed him. Schultz was a 1984 Olympian and coached in Seoul. I went to the Petersen Events Center today to have a look inside the new Sangmu Gymnasium, but of course it was closed off. One visitor took a few grainy pics, though, and posted them to her Twitter here and here.


Via @NikiMarieR.

Youtube has some wrestling clips from 1988 if you'd like to see the real thing.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi at Carnegie Library Oakland, December 20.

As part of its free monthly "Real to Reel" series, the Oakland branch of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will show the Japanese film Jiro Dreams of Sushi on December 20, from 7:00 to 9:00 pm in Classroom A. The film is a story, says the official website,

of 85 year-old Jiro Ono, considered by many to be the world’s greatest sushi chef. He is the proprietor of Sukiyabashi Jiro, a 10-seat, sushi-only restaurant inauspiciously located in a Tokyo subway station. Despite its humble appearances, it is the first restaurant of its kind to be awarded a prestigious 3 star Michelin review, and sushi lovers from around the globe make repeated pilgrimage, calling months in advance and shelling out top dollar for a coveted seat at Jiro’s sushi bar.

For most of his life, Jiro has been mastering the art of making sushi, but even at his age he sees himself still striving for perfection, working from sunrise to well beyond sunset to taste every piece of fish; meticulously train his employees; and carefully mold and finesse the impeccable presentation of each sushi creation. At the heart of this story is Jiro’s relationship with his eldest son Yoshikazu, the worthy heir to Jiro’s legacy, who is unable to live up to his full potential in his father’s shadow.

Japanese films Madoka Magica (parts 1 and 2) at Dormont's Hollywood Theater, December 16.

Poster for the second film, 永遠の物語, of the trilogy.

Just a reminder that two Japanese-language films, based on the anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica (魔法少女まどか☆マギカ) and debuting worldwide between October and December, and will play at Dormont's Hollywood Theater (map) on Sunday, December 16 at 12:00 pm. Hey, it's not every day year that Pittsburgh screens a relatively new Asian movie.

As Wikipedia says, there are two films out in 2012 that span the TV series, with a third coming out next year. The Hollywood Theater is showing parts 1 and 2 beginning at 12:00 pm, with tickets costing $20 for both Beginnings and Eternal. No separate tickets, the website says, and 30 free posters available while supplies last.